Signaling device for vehicles.



A. E. DHARLINGUE.

SIGNALING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1.191s.

1,237,486. 'Pate11tedAug.21,19l7.

HEB. --'4 7 I'IIIIIIIIUIIIIIIII l nrrn eer e,

ALFRED E. DEARLINGUE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURL SIGNALING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES.

, aeaaase whom may concern: Be' it known that I, ALFRED DHAR- ranepna citizen of the .United States, re-

siding at the city of St. Louis, in the State ofMissouri, haveinvented certain new and for use in daylight or at night.

Another object is to provide a device of the character described that is adapted to be operated by means of energizing and deenergizing one or the other of a pair of solenoids.

An advantage 'ofthe device of the present invention is that it consists of few parts, is simple in operation, and may be installed readily in operative association with a vehicle for which it is designed to be used as a signaling device.

Another advantage isthat avehicle may be equipped with two of the devices em; hodying this invention,' one adjacent the frontof the vehicle and adapted to signal ahead and the other adjacent the rear of .the vehicle and adapted to signal to the rear.

A. further advantage is that in normal positionof parts the device of this invention is adapted, also, as a tail-light for a vehicle.

Other objects and advantages of this inyention:-. Iare hereinafter mentioned and, furthermore, this invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination ofl-partsdescribed in this specification and pointed; out in the claims.

In ,the accompanying drawings forming partpfthis specification wherein like numbers vof reference denote like parts wherever il s? 1 7. v Figure l is'a plan view looking at the front of the device of thepresent invention; Fig, is a vertical sectional View on a e trally of Fig. 1 and extending longiaily of the arrow indicator; horizontal sectional view of Specification of Letters Patent.

device of the character described adapted PatentediAugtZ L ldlt Application filed June 7, 1918. Serial No. 102,165. v 1 v v Fig. 3 and parts associated therevvithfremoved to show the segmental gears and the solenoid supporting bracket adjacent "the inner wall of the casing offthe device gwfa'nd Fig. is a diagranimatjicalflview'j showing the electrical circuits andfswitch for operating the signaling device of th s invention.

Casing 1 may consist of a back-plate 2 and a substantially cup-shapedcover 3,said" back-plate and said coverbeing removably joined together by any suitable means, such, for instance, as by means of screws 4: or the like through flange 5 borne by. said backplate and flange 6 borne by saidcover,

The front of-cover 3 may be provided with three similar openings 7, 8, and 9, adapted as light-ports and which may have their centers substantially equidistant from the axis of rock-shaft 10 mounted ashere inafter described. r v

Adjacent each of said "openings, cover 3 may bear an outwardly protruding annular flange 11 adapted to receive glass covers or lenses 12, said glass covers being held in position over said openings by means of spring split-rings 13 in a wellelmown man- The glass cover or lens 12 o'fopening 7 maybe green in color. and the colorv of glass 'covers or lenses 12 of openings8 and 9 may each be red.

A case-hardened bushing 14 may be borne in an appropriate opening formed in the front of cover 3, said bushing being adapted J as a bearing for the adjacent end-portion of rock-shaft 10 mounted therein, said rockshaft having one end extending outwardly of said cover through said bushing andihaving its other end pivotally mounted on pad 15, said pad being borne by theiinner wall of casing-back 2. One 'end of indicatorarrow 16 or the like is secured to the Outer end of rock-shaft 10 outside of casing .1, the shaft or" said indicator-arrowbeing.provided with'an opening 17 adapted to'registerwith light-ports 8 and 9, respectively when said indicator-arrow is swung to a position over said ports when said rock-shaft is rocked as hereinafter described.

Shutter 18 is rigidly 'ounteabn rockshaft 10 within casing 1 and isadapted to cover an opening 7, 8, or 9 andsh-ut oil the passage of light therethroughfrom within as the shutter is movedlto ,a pos t on in front of one of said openings. as saidfrock ,shaft is rocked in the manner hereinafter described. In the normal posit on of parts indicator-arrow l6 depends substant ally 1 from within casing 1-.

perpendicularly downward from rock-sl1aft said reflectors being adapted to reflect light from lamp 38 through said light-ports 8 and 10 outside of casing 1 and points in a direction opposite to'light-port 7, as shown in Figs. 1 and .2, said indicator-arrow being then in the position, which it normally as-, sumes and holds by force of gravity, shut- Y ter 18 being mounted .on' rock-shaft 10- in such a position relative to indicator-arrow 16 that when said indicator-arrow is in said normal position, said shutter will be in'its normal position wherein it covers lightport 7 and shuts of]? light};

Segmental gear 19 is rigidly secured to the inner'end of rock-shaft 10'adjacent pad and segmental gear 20 adapted to mesh with segmental gear 19 is secured to one end of space collar 21, said space collar being rotatably mounted on pin 22, said pin being rigidly supported by' being screwed into or otherwise secured to pad 23, which pad is secured to the inner wall of casing-back 2. To the other end of said space collar, balance lever 24 is rigidly secured intermediate the two ends of said lever, the arrangement of parts being 'such'that when said balance lever is actuated 'to cause space collar 21 to rock segmental gear 20, said movement will be communicated to segmental gear 19 and rock-shaft 10 will be rocked correspondingly.

Bracket 25 may be secured to pad 26 'by means of screws 27 or the like, said .pad

- being borne by the inner wall of casing-back 2, said bracket being adapted to support a I pair of solenoids 28 and 29, which may be secured to said bracket in any suitable manner. Cores or plungers 30 and 31 of solenoids 28 and 29, respectively, are hollow with open tops and closed bottoms, as shown portions of said cores, respectively, and having their other ends extending outwardly of 'said hollow portions and pivotally attachedto adjacent ends of balance lever 24. Set

' screws 34 and 35 extending upwardly through bracket 25 into solenoids 28 and 29', respectively, are adapted as adjustable stops for adjusting the length of pull or stroke-of plungers or cores 30 and' 31, respectively, downwardly into their respective solenoids,

j am-nuts 36 and 37 being adapted for looking said set-screws in an adjusted position.

A suitable construction of segmental gears th'erethrough,

" the signaling device of this invention, bat- 9, when saidlight-ports are not covered'by shutter 18, it being, of course, understood that lamp 38 is. wired electrically in connec tion with a source of electric energy borne by the vehicleon-which the signaling device of this invention is equipped and that lamp 38 is constantly lighted when the vehicle and said deviceis in use at night.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical view showing the electric 'circuits 'adapted for operating tery 41 or some other source of electric energy being-borne by any suitable part of the vehicle (not shown) equipped with the signaling device and switch 42 being mount- In daylight the signals are observed by the position of indicator-arrow 16, the nor 'mal position of. said indicator, shown in Figsl and 2, being'adapted to indicate that the vehicle bearing the device is to proceed straight ahead. At 7 night that position of the indicator-arrow is indicated by the light shining through the normally open lightports 8 and .9, with shutter 18 in its normal position of closing light-port 7 To warn traffic thatthe driver intends to turn his vehicle around a corner to the right or left, the operator will throw switch 42 in the appropriate direction to one or the other of the two contact points 43 and 44 whereupon the corresponding solenoid will beenergized, causing its plunger to be drawn inwardly of said solenoid thus causing the corresponding. link 32 or 33 to actuate balance lever 24 to rock space collar 21, whereby segmental gear 20 and 19 will be correspondingly rocked, therocking of gear-19 in turn causing rock-shaft 10 to be rocked, whereby indicator-arrow 16 will swing to the right or left, accordingly as one or the other of said pair of solenoids is energized, until hole 17 substantially regis- I ters with one or the other of the two lightports 8 and 9, and until shutter '18 swings away from light-port 7 and cov'ers one or 1 the otherof the two light-ports '8 vand 9, so

that in the position of parts indicating an intention to turn the vehicle to the right or left, indicator-arrow 16 will have its open-' ing 17 substantially registering with one of the two light-ports 8 and 9, and shutter 18 will swing -to a position shutting light off from within through the other of said two light-ports 8 and 9, light-port -7 being openand unobstructed, so that at night time .the

inclined position of indicator-arrow 16 desgreen light-port 7 and through one of the red light-ports 8 or 9, the other of said red light-ports being closed by said shutter.-

To restore the parts to normal position indicating a strai ht-away course for the vehicle, switch 42 is moved to neutral position, shown in 'Fig. 5, whereu on the energized solenoid is deenergized,1ts plunger is.

released and the weight of indicator-arrow 16 acted upon by gravity will cause said indicator-arrow to assume the perpendicular or normal position,jthus restoring, also, shutter 18 and all othermovable parts to normal positions shown in the drawings.

invention may be installed at the rear end of a vehicle and another one of these'devices may beinstalledat thefront endof said vehicle and the two devices may be wired in a well-known manner. in connection with a source of electrical energy so that they will act synchronously'in signaling'as their-solenoids are energized and deenergized, the front device bein adapted-f to indicate to traffic officers an others that the ivehicle will proceedstraight ahead, to the right, or to the left, as the case may be, and the rear device will simultaneously signal to those to the rear of the vehicle the'intended course in which said vehicle is to be driven.

It will'be observed thatin the normal position of parts, shown in the drawings, the

' two lightports 8 and 9, which'may be adapted as red lights by the use of red cover glasses or lenses 12, are-open to the passage of lightfrom lamp 38, so that in case of a signaling device of this invention mounted at the rear of a vehicle, said red light-ports are adapted as apair-of tail-lights n a normal straight-away course of the veh'cle, and, that, whenever the parts are moved to a position indicating that the vehicle is to turn to the right or left, oneor the other. of said red light-ports will show light therethrough thus providing a suitable tail-light.

Moreover, as stated above, light-port 7 may be provided with a green cover glass or lens 12, so that when said light-port is open for the passage of light; therethrough from 'lamp' 38 it will show a green light,

' which green light will show only when the parts are moved to a position indicating that the vehicle is to be turnedtowardthe right or'left, the direction of the turn being indicated by the position relative to said green light that one of the red lights 8, 9 is shown, that is, green light 7 when illuminated is adapted as a' pilot light,'and by permitting" one of the red lights 8', 9, to'be illuminated and the other of said red lights to be darkened by shutter 18, the position of the illuminated red li ht with reference to the A signaling device embodying the present green pilot light will indicate the direction in which'the vehicle is to be turned.

- -It is, of course, understood that onelamp 38 may be provided or that a pluralitypof lamps (not shown) may be used 1n place of said one lamp vand that the position of lamp 28 or a plurality ofsuch lamps maybe varied within casing 1,in any suitable man ner" adapted to provide light for illuminating light; ports 7, 8,'and 9 in operating the device of this invention.

Various changes in the construction, a'ring and an indicating arrow having an opening adapted to register with either of the red light openings, and means for moving the shaft to permit the shutter to uncover the green light opening and simultaneously cover. one of the parallel red light openings.

2. In a signaling device for vehicles, .a casing including a cover, said cover having parallel red light openings and a green light opening disposed above the red light openings',.'an indicating arrow having an openmg adaptedto register with either of the,

red light openings, means. for moving the arrow, and means for simultaneously closing the red light opening opposite that in register with the opening in the arrow.

3. In a signaling device'for vehicles, a casing including a cover, said cover having parallel 'red light openings, a reen light opening disposed above the red 'ght openings, a shaft extending through the casing, a shutter operating within the casing'and supported by the shaft, an indicatin' arrow supported on the shaft and operating exteriorly of the casing, said indicating arrow having an opening adapted to register with either of the red. light openings, said shut ter adapted to normally close the green light opening, and means for operating the shaft for moving the arrow opposite 'one of the red light openings, .and simultaneously moving the shutter to close the opposite red light opening. In testimony whereof signature.

- ALFRED E. DHARLINGUE.

I hereunto affix my 

